How to Use a Brake Riveting Tool

A pneumatic (left) and a mechanical or foot-stomp riveter side by side. They're nearly identical.

Photo by Kristen Hall-Geisler

Though riveted brakes are less common now than they once were, there are still several types of brake riveting tools out there.

Folks with a restoration project in their home garage will probably use a hand set. These tools are small and usually clamp to a workbench. The rivet is set on the anvil, the roller is poised above it, and a few well-placed whacks with a hammer roll the edges. While cheap and easy, this isn't very efficient, and it doesn't hold as tightly as rivets rolled by machines.

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Foot stomp and pneumatic machines are larger, freestanding riveters. They work exactly like a hand set, but the pressure to roll the rivet comes from the machine rather than your arm. When you press a lever with your foot on the foot stomp machine, it sets gears and a chain in motion, which lowers the roller onto the rivet, which is placed on the anvil. A pneumatic machine works exactly the same way -- and even looks similar -- but a pneumatic system replaces the gears.

The latest riveting tools are hydraulic, which use pressure sensors for precise riveting. A rivet feeder allows for a quicker process, and it can even be set for individual brake types. Using a machine like this, a custom brake business can replace linings on 700 to 800 brakes a day, on anything from long-haul trucks to vintage passenger vehicles.

Though brake riveting tools are pretty straightforward, we do have a few tips to share on the next page.